Fungus Crops Up at North Water Street Gallery

Giant mushrooms have sprung up inside the front window of The North Water Street Gallery, catching the attention of passing motorists. And there’s even more fungus inside the gallery – but it’s a good thing.

Jeff Ingram, executive director of , said Kent artist Liza Enos’ sculpture exhibition, “A Beginning,” is an attention-getter.

An opening reception for the exhibit that runs through Jan. 28 was held Sunday and featured “a nice turnout with all kinds of different people,” Ingram said.

Enos, a recent graduate, said in her artist statement that her work is based in abstraction.

“Although I used actual fungi as a reference, I am not trying to literally depict fungi. Instead, I am reshaping the world I see for expressive purpose,” she explained.

Ingram said the show “is awesome. It’s an amazing experience to be around this huge installation she did. The perspective is very large so that your experience is like that of a small creature in a large forest – especially if you’re a kid. Or if you have the mentality of a kid, I guess.”

Enos said she chose fungi for her work because the organisms recycle and distribute nutrients.

“I see this activity as a metaphor for the motion I go through as an artist. I see my creativity as a living force that must be allowed to develop and become refined. My hope is that, by allowing my creativity the freedom to build, positive results from this energy will be reflected in the world around me,” she explained.

According to her bio, Enos lives, works and creates her art in Kent. She has previous experience in theater and plans to continue using sculpture to alter space as a prop designer. Her art tends to carry a naturalistic quality.

The North Water Street Gallery is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays or by appointment. For more information call 330-673-4970 or visit Standing Rock’s website.